On Sept. 23, an undergraduate writer asked this Question Question: “How do you cite an excerpt from a book within my English book?”

There are two answers to this question, depending on what is meant by “excerpt.” I take “excerpt” to mean one of two things:

A brief passage of text that the textbook editors quote or

An entire work (or part of a work) that is anthologized in the textbook.

So, assuming you are using MLA documentation, here are the two answers:

A passage quoted in the textbook: If you are quoting a passage of text that the textbook editors quote, Diana Hacker’s Research and Documentation Online specifies the following: “When a writer’s or a speaker’s quoted words appear in a source written by someone else, begin the parenthetical citation with the abbreviation ‘qtd. in.’”

For example: “Researchers Botan and McCreadie point out that ‘workers are objects of information collection without participating in the process of exchanging the information’ (qtd. in Kizza and Ssanyu 14).”

On the Works Cited page, then, you simply include an entry for the textbook.

A work anthologized in a textbook: If, on the other hand, you are quoting an entire work (or a selection of a work) that is included in your textbook or reader, the in-text citation will simply use the author of the selection’s name, looking something like this: (Shulman 372).

The Rhetoric Tutoring Center will be open for services beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4. Writers enrolled in Rhetoric 101, 102, 103, 104, or 105 can schedule appointments by clicking on the “One-on-One Consultations” link above.

This year, the Rhetoric Tutor is also offering other services to continue serving Rhetoric students and instructors. To find out more, browse the above links.